It is known to provide an object in a blind spot detection/LCA system for a vehicle that detects the presence of another vehicle or object in the lane next to the host vehicle, where it may be difficult for the driver of the host vehicle to determine whether or not there is another vehicle or object adjacent to the host vehicle. Such an object in a blind spot detection/LCA system often includes a visual indicator that visually indicates the detection of another vehicle or object to the driver of the host vehicle.
Typically, the object/LCA visual indicator or indicators indicate or alert the driver of the host vehicle of the presence or impending presence of another vehicle or object in a blind spot in an adjacent side lane that typically cannot be readily seen within the field of view of the exterior mirror reflective element of the exterior mirror assembly mounted at that side of the vehicle and/or cannot be readily seen by the driver's peripheral vision or the like. The object/LCA visual indicators typically are arranged to be viewable principally or solely by the driver of the host vehicle and not by drivers of other vehicles.
A variety of interior and exterior mirror assemblies with indicators are known in the art, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,783; 5,669,705; 5,823,116; 6,296,379; 6,832,848; 5,943,176; 6,099,153; 5,355,284; 5,788,357; 6,257,746; 6,005,724; 5,481,409; 6,111,683; 6,045,243; 6,512,624; 6,356,376; 2,263,382; 2,580,014; 3,266,016; 4,499,451; 4,588,267; 4,630,904; 4,623,222; 4,721,364; 4,906,085; 5,313,335; 5,587,699; 5,575,552; 5,436,741; 5,587,699; 5,938,320; 6,700,692; and 5,786,772, and Canadian Pat. No. CA 1,063,695, and Great Britain Patent Specification 1,172,382 and Pat. Abstracts of Japan Publication No. 0917573, published Jul. 8, 1997, and PCT Publication WO 95/30495, published Nov. 16, 1995, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved object in a blind spot/LCA indicator that is readily viewable by a driver of the host vehicle and not visible or viewable by a driver of another vehicle.